I had the opportunity to handle Balin's Mace at the Weta Cave today. I was nicely asking the staff to get me down Orcrist again and I was unsuccessful again but one of them went out the back and got me a copy of Balins Mace. For any one who wants to buy it be assured it has a good feel & weight to it. Just because it is not made of metal it does not feel light or flimsy. It also has excellent detail in all aspects. I asked for the Weta staff member to take a photo with me holding it but he said no they cannot do this until the movie comes out, which is strange because there are people constantly taking photos of all the items in there including the weapons and I have taken many and posted them here, so they must be some distinction between what is on display and other items in hand. Go figure, but it is only right to respect their decisions, I was just thankful I got to hold the mace, but I will keep plugging away until the day I get to hold Orcrist.

3 pounds, or 1.4 kg, so about right for a melee weapon of moderate size, but the important thing is that it had a reasonable heft and presence to it. The best way I can put it is that a real weapon feels comfortable in hand, not unwieldy and also not unneccesarily light, and although clearly not a real weapon it did not feel like a light cheap piece of junk in hand.

I have held real weapons that match historical types, , and I have held junk and speaking in broad terms this felt like it had more good about it than bad. I would consider it worth buying as a prop collectible.